Now it's ecological hotels. A friend just back from a business trip to Sweden brings with him a booklet from the Scandic group of hotels, in one of which he stayed. It's the gospel pure and simple: "We must change from a resource-wasting society into a resource-maintaining society that functions in harmony with nature's own cycle." And in 1994 (it shows how seriously they take their self-imposed mission) all employees of the Scandic group attended a training programme in environmental matters, with seminars and study groups. And this will go on.
Well, for example, water-saving. They are installing water-conserving WCs, which require only half the water for each flush compared with the present volume. Then, water-saving shower-heads. You'll have a comfortable flow of water as you stand there, but you'll be getting several litres less per minute than the norm. Scandic hotels, we are told, use almost a billion litres of water a year, so you'll realise, as their booklet says, that this saving constitutes "more than just a drop in the ocean". All new hotel rooms built for Scandic are recyclable. That's a bold statement. Well, 97 per cent. Wooden floors (from Scandinavian wood, of course), textiles from pure natural wool or cotton and a minimum of chrome and other metal fittings. The rooms that they have refurbished this year have reduced the use of plastic by 90 tonnes, metal by 15 tonnes and mercury by 50 per cent. Even the pens and paper are being looked at: they are using environmentally friendly paper. They don't explain about the pens.
As to food, possibly at the top of guest's requirements: "Our restaurant purchasing department actively searches for ecological raw materials at a reasonable cost. The objective is to be able to serve well-prepared and delicious ecologically grown food, which is also value for money." (Does ecological here mean the same thing as organic?)
Normally, hotel soap comes in a little individual packet and only a fraction of it is used. All soap in these establishments seems to be in liquid form, therefore there is no residue. And Scandic's efforts have won it several international awards for its environmental work. The World Travel Market, says the brochure, one of the largest travel trade fairs, and the environmental organisation The Green Globe recognise the effort, for "Scandic deals with environmental matters as part of its strategy". Our friend's verdict on his Scandic hotel, which was in a not-so-big Swedish town was: "Lovely interior, so much fine wood." And the food? "Good."
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